March 6, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts toward Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports (NBA News)
The Milwaukee Bucks travel to Hollywood on Friday to face off against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. There is, however, now a bit of doubt surrounding LeBron’s status for this marquee matchup after the 20-time All-Star was forced to exit Wednesday’s loss to the Sacramento Kings due to an ankle injury.
James has now opened up about the status of his ankle as he prepares to face off against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. on Friday night.
LeBron James Dealing With Ankle Injury Ahead of Milwaukee Bucks Bout
Feb 8, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
On Wednesday against the Kings, LeBron was seen heading to the locker room deep in the fourth quarter. After the game, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer revealed that this was brought about by a lingering ankle problem. James hinted, however, that there should be no cause for concern here:
“I’ll be all right,” James said, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “It’s just my ankle. It’s just what I’ve been dealing with before the [All-Star] break, after the break. I’m just managing it the best way I can.”
Mar 2, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) warms up prior to the game against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena. James is nine points away from becoming the first NBA player to reach 40,000 points. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
It is worth noting that LeBron entered Wednesday’s game questionable to play because of the same ankle issue, but he was able to play through it. He didn’t seem bothered by it significantly as the 39-year-old finished with a 31-point, 13-assist double-double in the loss.
“I played the whole third, sat a little bit to start the fourth, and when I got back in, it kind of just — whatever,” James said. “It’s just something I’ve been dealing with.”
McMenamin reports that according to his source, “the ankle pain is simply being caused by ‘wear and tear,’” which seems to point to the notion that this isn’t a serious issue for LeBron and the Lakers.
“Some games are better than others,” James said. “I didn’t feel it at all against OKC [on Monday]. And I didn’t feel it at all until the fourth quarter tonight. So, each game, each day is different.”
Mar 6, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Young fan reacts after Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) scores a basket against the Sacramento Kings during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is one of a handful of all-time greats who jumped straight from high school to the NBA.
While speaking about his rookie season with J.J. Redick on the Mind The Game podcast, James revealed that the hardest thing for him to adjust to as a 19-year-old in the NBA was the schedule.
“The best teacher in life is experience. But when I got to the NBA, the biggest adjustment that I had was literally just going from like, ‘Oh s–t, I don’t have to go to class every day,’” James said around the 19:20 mark. “I’m going from a 27-game season to now 82, so like, oh s–t, after 27 games in the NBA, around about 32 games, I’m exhausted. So now, like, what can I do to get the energy back going?”
After being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the No. 1 pick in the 2003 draft, James made an immediate impact. He played 79 games that year and posted averages of 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.6 steals on his way to being named the 2004 NBA Rookie of the Year.
“As far as when I stepped out on the floor, there wasn’t too much of an adjustment,” he said. “I felt like I was physical enough, I felt like I had the size. I had the speed, obviously. I had the athleticism, obviously.”
Now the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, James has enjoyed a legendary career. He revealed earlier this week that he doesn’t have much time left in the league, but he’s still performing at an incredibly high level as he tries to lead the Lakers to another championship.
Because he was such a gifted talent, LeBron James is part of the rare group to enter the NBA right out of high school. While he doesn’t regret the decision, the 20-time All-Star has, at times, said he’s had second thoughts about missing college.
Right now, March Madness is one of the hottest topics in the basketball world. The remaining teams are preparing for their Final Four matchups, with the national championship game slated for Monday.
On the “Mind the Game” podcast, LeBron James and JJ Redick discussed about the NCAA Tournament, where the four-time champion discussed his yearly regret about not playing in college.
“This is the only time. March Madness right now is the only time I think about playing college basketball,” LeBron said. “For 21 straight years.”
LeBron admitted that he doesn’t watch much college basketball during the year. That changed a little bit now, as his son Bronny James is a freshman at USC.
LeBron James admits to helping longtime friend during NCAA March Madness
Aside from watching his son play, LeBron James has other ties to college basketball. That has been on display during March Madness, as one of the LA Lakers star’s longtime friends helped lead a team to an upset.
Duquesne’s men’s basketball team is coached by Dru Joyce. Dru and LeBron go way back, as the two played in high school together. As an 11th seed, Duquesne took down 6-ranked BYU in the first round, but the Dukes’ run came to an end in round two against No. 3 seed Illinois.
When Duquesne pulled off the upset, LeBron James rushed to social media to applaud his friend. Nevertheless, he began going to work for him. While talking with JJ Redick, LeBron said he watched other games and sending his friend notes on their upcoming opponent.
“Right after the game, I was watching Illinois versus Morehead State scouting because that’s who they play next,” LeBron said. “Already sent notes, I got to watch like three quarters of game.”
This is far from the first time that LeBron has spoken about the idea of playing in college.
During a broadcast with Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, the WNBA legends asked him where he would have gone. Many assumed LeBron would have gone to Ohio State, but he named Duke and North Carolina as two probable landing spots.
Duke and UNC are two highly touted programs with a lot of history, so it’s not shocking to see LeBron pick them. If he had chosen North Carolina, he would have followed in the footsteps of Michael Jordan.
The NBA has undergone numerous transformations in the past twenty years, but LeBron James’ consistent production has remained one of the few constants. Last night, despite the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the defending champion Denver Nuggets, James’ historic achievement stood unaffected.
James advanced to the basket in under two minutes into the second quarter, whereupon he completed an off-handed layup after spinning past his defender. Despite being a routine play, the league’s all-time leading scorer reached an unprecedented 40,000 career points with it.
With 26 points in the game’s conclusion, James furthered the gap between himself and every player in NBA history. Notwithstanding his notable output, the 39-year-old is currently in the latter stages of his professional life. These momentous occasions afford brief intermissions in the action to commemorate the all-time leading scorer.
James typically dons scarce color combinations of his trademark Nike sneakers that are exclusive to players during crucial games. Nevertheless, James chose to adorn himself last night in a general release colorway of his most recent signature footwear.
Detailed instructions for purchasing the basketball shoes James utilized when he accumulated 40,000 career points are provided below, along with an examination of the shoes in question.
James accumulated more than 40,000 career points while donning the ‘Algae’ colorway of the Nike LeBron 21. The $200 ‘Algae’ colorway was introduced on January 25, 2024. On the Nike website, athletes and spectators can purchаse the shoes at their retail price.
The nautical motif adorns the ‘Algae’ colorway, which features a furry Oil Green upper adorned with Volt details on the laces, heels, and outsoles. We remain unconcerned as to why James opted for these sneakers for last night; however, considering their accessibility to online consumers, we are unable to lodge a complaint.
Each Nike LeBron 21 colorway features the identical technological specifications. A lightweight mesh with a 360-degree zonal cabling system provides containment beneath the upper. A Zoom Air unit in the forefoot and heel provides propulsion and landing assistance underfoot. The carbon fiber midfoot plate, meanwhile, offers additional support.
James has captivated the entire basketball community with his оffensive prowess throughout his career, but his sneaker legacy is equally as prolific. Fans should remain glued to FanNationKicks.com for the latest sports footwear news.
LeBron James‘ son, Bryce, was seen vacationing with Diddy‘s daughters amid the 𝑠e𝑥 trafficking probe into the mogul and rapper.
Diddy, whose real name is Sean Combs, has recently seen his mansions in Los Angeles and Miami raided by federal agents.
But his daughters Jessie and D’Lila Combs, as seen in video posted to TikTok, were with James and his friend Boogie Johnson in the Turks and Caicos.
The friends were seen dancing in the water in the clip.
In October, Bryce and Boogie appeared to take the twins to homecoming at Sierra Canyon High School.
Bryce James and Diddy’s twin daughters were seen dancing in the Turks and Caicos
LeBron James’ son Bryce (right) appeared to take the daughter of Diddy to his homecoming
Bryce is 16 years old and a junior in high school.
Last Thursday, Diddy was seen with his twin daughters leaving a Top Golf location in Miami.
On the same day, the rapper’s alleged drug mule, Brendan Paul, 25, was arrested by Miami-Dade Police and Homeland Security agents at Opa-Locka Executive Airport.
Paul, who previously played for Syracuse’s basketball team, was referred to as Diddy’s ‘drug mule’ in a $30million lawsuit Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones filed against Diddy.
Bryce (center) is pictured with his brother, Bronny, and dad LeBron James at the ESPY awards
Diddy’s twin daughters (left and second from right) are cheerleaders at Sierra Canyon HS
Diddy has been accused of 𝑠e𝑥ual assault in multiple lawsuits filed against him
The suit also alleged that Combs coerced Jones to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have 𝑠e𝑥 with them.
The complaint, one of five against Combs since November, alleged he was involved in ‘acquir[ing] and distribut[ing] Mr Combs drugs and guns’.
In a lawsuit Combs settled the day after it was filed in November, his former protégé and girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, also sued him alleging years of 𝑠e𝑥ual abuse, including rape.
The lawsuit said he forced her to have 𝑠e𝑥 with male prostitutes while he filmed them.
LeBron James, the legendary NBA player, recently marked his 20th season in the league with a special family photoshoot at his residence. This photoshoot not only celebrated his illustrious career but also highlighted his family life alongside his wife, Savannah, whom he met in 2002. The couple recently celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary, having tied the knot in 2013. LeBron shared a picture from the Vanity Fair photoshoot on social media, featuring himself, Savannah, and their three children – Bronny, Bryce, and Zhuri – posing alongside his sleek Porsche 918 Spyder. In his post, LeBron conveyed his anniversary wishes to his wife along with a playful message.
Underneath its sleek exterior lies a powerful drivetrain consisting of a 4.6-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine paired with two electric motors, delivering a combined output of 875 horsepower (887 ps) and a peak torque of 944 lb-ft (1,280 Nm). Such formidable power enables the 918 Spyder to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (100 kph) in a mere 2.6 seconds, with a top speed of 214 mph (345 kph). Additionally, it boasts an electric-only range of 11.8 miles (19 km), showcasing its versatility and eco-friendliness despite its performance prowess.
In the context of LeBron and Savannah’s glamorous photoshoot, the Porsche 918 Spyder served as a symbol of luxury, style, and exclusivity, perfectly complementing their affluent lifestyle and celebrating their enduring love and family bond.
The Porsche 918 Spyder, introduced at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show and produced between 2013 and 2015 in a limited edition of 918 units, is a high-performance plug-in hybrid. With a price tag of over $1 million per unit, this exotic vehicle is a testament to luxury and performance. Despite its rarity and exclusivity, it was a fitting addition to LeBron’s opulent lifestyle, given his staggering net worth of $1.2 billion and a collection valued at over $2.5 million.
The NBA Slam Dunk Contest has become an institution in modern basketball. But for years dunks were outlawed in college and high school games
“The people who made that decision probably never played basketball before,” he says. “In their minds, it wasn’t fair. But this is something to this day that goes on in sports – people make the wrong decisions.”
‘Defense is a lost art’: has the NBA’s offensive explosion gone too far?
Read more
Tyler says he first dunked a basketball when he was 13. He hadn’t started playing organized hoops in high school yet, but when he stuffed the ball through the basket, he almost couldn’t believe what he’d done. “It was a great feeling,” he says.
It’s believed that the first-ever dunk in organized basketball occurred in 1936 (before that it was all one-legged push shots and layups). Joe Fortenberry, a 6ft 8in Texan, performed one in the Berlin Olympics for the US basketball team on the way to winning the sport’s first-ever gold medal. At the time, the shot was likened to a roll dipped into coffee by Pulitzer Prize writer Arthur Daley of The New York Times. Less than a decade later, in 1944, the first dunk was recorded in college basketball when 7ft center Bob Kurland of Oklahoma A&M threw one down. “It wasn’t planned,” Kurland told the Orlando Sentinel in 2012. “Just a spontaneous play.”
At that time, the dunk wasn’t considered a highlight. Rather, it was often seen as a sign of disrespect to your opponents. Celtics Hall of Famer Satch Sanders played for Boston from 1960 to 1973. According to Sanders, if a player went up for a dunk, defenders would try to injure him by running under his legs as soon as he left his feet. “It was an unwritten rule,” Sanders once said.
“The people who made that decision probably never played basketball before,” he says. “In their minds, it wasn’t fair. But this is something to this day that goes on in sports – people make the wrong decisions.”
‘Defense is a lost art’: has the NBA’s offensive explosion gone too far?
Read more
Tyler says he first dunked a basketball when he was 13. He hadn’t started playing organized hoops in high school yet, but when he stuffed the ball through the basket, he almost couldn’t believe what he’d done. “It was a great feeling,” he says.
It’s believed that the first-ever dunk in organized basketball occurred in 1936 (before that it was all one-legged push shots and layups). Joe Fortenberry, a 6ft 8in Texan, performed one in the Berlin Olympics for the US basketball team on the way to winning the sport’s first-ever gold medal. At the time, the shot was likened to a roll dipped into coffee by Pulitzer Prize writer Arthur Daley of The New York Times. Less than a decade later, in 1944, the first dunk was recorded in college basketball when 7ft center Bob Kurland of Oklahoma A&M threw one down. “It wasn’t planned,” Kurland told the Orlando Sentinel in 2012. “Just a spontaneous play.”
At that time, the dunk wasn’t considered a highlight. Rather, it was often seen as a sign of disrespect to your opponents. Celtics Hall of Famer Satch Sanders played for Boston from 1960 to 1973. According to Sanders, if a player went up for a dunk, defenders would try to injure him by running under his legs as soon as he left his feet. “It was an unwritten rule,” Sanders once said.
Nevertheless, some of the league’s best would use the dunk as part of their repertoire, including Sanders’ teammate Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, who could reportedly dunk from the free-throw line without much of a start. The tallest and most athletic players in the NBA only increased their dominance by taking advantage of the dunk. Dunks were worth the same amount of points as any other field goal – three-pointers had yet to arrive in the league (1979 in the NBA, 1986 in college) – but they were very different from other shots. Their value was – and is – as psychological as it was mathematical. A sign of superiority of the opponents a player soars over.
Michael Jordan’s dunks became part of his legend. Photograph: Nathaniel S Butler/NBAE/Getty Images
But when Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) began making headlines in high school and college in the 60s, basketball officials began to fret. So, the ban began. In fact, the decade-long “no dunk rule” is often cited as the “Lew Alcindor Rule.” Some, including its namesake, considered the ban – which never reached the NBA – to have racial motives. While the rulemakers who outlawed the shot said they did so because it caused injuries and did not “display basketball skill – only height advantage,” Alcindor thought otherwise. Back then, he told the Chicago Defender, “To me the new ‘no-dunk’ rule smacks a little of discrimination. When you look at it … most of the people who dunk are Black athletes.”
Further adding fuel to that fire, about a year before the dunk was banned, Texas Western’s men’s team, which included an all-Black starting lineup, beat an all-white University of Kentucky team for the collegiate national championship. This added to the belief that the ban was racially motivated.
Tyler does not believe race was a factor. Instead, he saw the ban as simply taking away certain players’ advantages, particularly Abdul-Jabbar’s. “Black guys weren’t the only guys who could dunk,” Tyler says. “White guys could dunk, too. Bobby Jones, Tom Chambers – these were guys who came into the league who could dunk. Period. Even Larry Bird could dunk!”
One thing was sure though: college and high school players had to develop different skillsets around the basket when the dunk was removed from the game. “It made me focus more on the fundamentals of making what we called ‘power layups,’” Tyler says. “We had to concentrate on taking the ball to the hole and going through the defense, getting used to the contact and laying the ball in.”
Abdul-Jabbar, on the other hand, relied on finesse more than power. Though tall, his frame was slighter than, say, Chamberlain’s. So he developed his “skyhook” in college. The shot was almost unguardable when he took it to the NBA, and he used it to become the league’s all-time scoring leader, a record he kept until LeBron James broke it this month.
In 1976, the dunk was brought back to the high school and collegiate game. Perhaps not coincidentally, pro basketball soon held its first-ever dunk contest. The ABA put on a dunk showcase during its All-Star game in Denver that year. Julius Erving won, leaping from the free-throw line, flying 15ft in the air, and slamming the ball home. The following season after the ABA and NBA merger, the NBA held its own dunk contest, won by former ABA player Darnell “Dr Dunk” Hillman. The NBA brought it back in 1984 (again in Denver, won by Larry Nance). It’s been going ever since, featuring winners such as Jordan, Wilkins, Kobe Bryant, Carter and Webb.
“The more creative the dunk, the more people gave attention to you,” says Tyler. “And these young men today are making it that much more exciting. It’s like going to Yankee Stadium and watching Aaron Judge hit home runs.”
Over the decades, the dunk remains epic, beloved. A moment of TNT explosiveness. Other legendary dunkers include Darryl Dawkins, the player who said he was from Planet Lovetron, named his dunks and shattered backboards (leading the NBA to develop the break-away rim). The “Big Aristotle,” Shaquille O’Neal, also broke his share of backboards while dunking. Jordan earned his nickname “Air” because he could leap and slam like no other. Wilkins was the “Human Highlight Film,” and Carter was “Half-Man Half-Amazing” for his aerial antics.
But when it came to his own career, Tyler says he loved both seeing and finishing ally-oop dunks –a play made famous later by the likes of Kemp and Gary Payton. “One of my all-time favorite dunks would always be from the lob,” Tyler says. “And dunking it backwards.”
While men get the most shine for dunking, female players have thrown down slams with authority too. Lisa Leslie of the LA Sparks did it first in the WNBA in 2002. Since then, players like Michelle Snow, Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne and Brittney Griner have showcased the skill. As a high school senior, Griner, the women’s game most prolific dunker, did so 52 times in her final season.
Basketball is constantly evolving. From its origins via the game’s creator Dr James Naismith, to innovations like slam dunks, the Eurostep, the killer crossover and now the step-back three-pointer, creativity is always part of the equation. With the dunk – from the windmill to the tomahawk to the 360 jam – that’s especially been the case.
“It’s exciting to watch,” says Tyler. “Basketball fans from high school to college to the pros, they come to see it. I hope they never do anything dumb like that again and outlaw it. The dunk will always be part of basketball – it always should have been part of basketball. So, keep doing it!”
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We’ve got you.
The Guardian is funded by readers like you in Vietnam and the only person who decides what we publish is our editor.
If you want to join us in our mission to share independent, global journalism to the world, we’d love to have you on side.
This is what we’re up against
Teams of lawyers from the rich and powerful trying to stop us publishing stories they don’t want you to see.
Lobby groups with opaque funding who are determined to undermine facts about the climate emergency and other established science.
Authoritarian states with no regard for the freedom of the press.
Bad actors spreading disinformation online to undermine democracy.
***
But we have something powerful on our side.
We’ve got you.
The Guardian is funded by readers like you in Vietnam and the only person who decides what we publish is our editor.
If you want to join us in our mission to share independent, global journalism to the world, we’d love to have you on side.
It seems impossible to believe, but there was a time when basketball largely forbade the dunk. From 1967 to 1976, high school and college players were outlawed from slamming the ball through the rim. Instead, they would have to lay the ball up or simply drop it through the hoop as they soared through the air. Now, as we look forward to this weekend’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest, the ban seems silly, especially when considering the eye-popping highlights created by the likes of Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Shawn Kemp and Vince Carter.
But such was the state of things a half-century ago. In an era when the game was changing rapidly, when players like the 7ft 2in Kareem-Abdul Jabbar were dominating instead of the shorter, more ground-bond hoopers like Bob Cousy, the dunk was seen as taboo among “purists,” against the very nature of basketball itself. Though that perspective wasn’t shared by many of the players.
“It didn’t make sense,” says Terry Tyler, a former Pistons double-digit scorer, who played for the University of Detroit under coach Dick Vitale when the dunk was banned by the NCAA. Tyler later participated in one of the first-ever NBA dunk contests in 1986 (won by the diminutive 5ft 7in guard, Spud Webb, over teammate Wilkins).
Before we kick things off, I would just like to thank all of our readers for participating in this week’s Jordan Week. We thought this would be a really fun week of reflecting on the greatest basketball player of all time, and we hope you had just as much fun reading as it was for us writing. Please let us know through your communication channel of choice what you thought of the event, and feel free to share any ideas that you may have.
With that out of the way, let us move on to to the fun.
Michael Jordan was one of the greatest dunkers of his generation, and the things he did on the court were mesmerizing. Some of his dunks defied gravity itself, whether it was a dunk off of a fast break, or if it was getting his revenge on Alonzo Mourning (oh yes, we’ll get to that).
To help cap off Jordan Week, let’s take a look five dunks that I feel were the best dunks of His Airness’ career. These will be in no particular order, as it is really difficult to try rank all of these amazing feats of athleticism. Let’s get started.
Michael Jordan Posterizes Jack Sikma
Michael Jordan can make a very strong case as the most disrespectful dunker in history. Whenever you saw him with the ball in his hands and the tongue came out, you knew he was on a mission to embarrass someone. 6’11 Milwaukee Bucks center Jack Sikma learned this lesson the hard way in this game from 1990, when Michael Jordan essentially tried to dunk the soul out of Sikma once he got to the rim.
MJ’s Revenge on Alonzo Mourning
Oh Alonzo Mourning, you were so young. You had so much ambition to knock the king off his throne, and you indeed managed to get a couple of good plays on Jordan. The crucial mistake that you made, however, is you started talking trash to the king of trash talk. What transpired following Mourning and his Hornets teammates giving Jordan the business, is His Airness taking flight, making sure Alonzo’s pride was shattered into a million pieces and maybe a few hundred more for good measure. The rage scream that followed was also nothing short of epic.
The Wag
Dikembe Mutombo was a monster of a player, and was the rim defender to end all rim defenders. His signature wag as he obliterated basketballs with his Thor hammer-like hands was always the cherry on top of what was many a many soul-crushings of opposing teams. He was such a dominant defender that even Michael Jordan hadn’t gotten a dunk on him prior to what I am about to show you. Mutombo very much made that fact known to Jordan as well, and let’s just say MJ took it as a challenge. To top off putting Mutombo on a poster, he made sure that the signature finger wag was reciprocated. No no no Mutombo, you do not jump with the GOAT.
Patrick Ewing, aka Michael Jordan’s Punching Bag
What else is there to say here? Former New York Knicks star had a terrible time dealing with Michael Jordan. His chances of winning a NCAA championship were destroyed by Michael Jordan’s shot back in the 80s, and throughout his professional career, Jordan made sure that Ewing never made it to the NBA Finals with him on the court. Jordan literally had to retire before the Knicks could make it to the NBA Finals, and even then they weren’t able to seal the deal.
Michael wasn’t the only one that did horrible things to Ewing — Scottie Pippen had one of the most disrespectful dunks in NBA history on Ewing, and I’m sure it’s one that still gives him nightmares. Jordan’s was pretty spectacular as well, as is evidence in this video. The amount of air that he got over Ewing alone makes me wonder if he actually does have the capability of flight.
The Cradle Dunk
Last but not least, one of the most iconic dunks in Michael Jordan’s repertoire: the cradle dunk. The first time we ever saw this dunk was during his playing days at UNC against Maryland, and it was a dunk that to this day is one of the most impressive dunks in UNC history. The fact that this happened at Maryland makes it all the more sweeter.
What do you think of the list? Do you think these were indeed the top five dunks in Michael Jordan’s career? What would your ranking of the dunks be? Let us know in the comments below.
With All-Star Saturday night just a few hours away, Michael Jordan reminisced on the best dunk he’s personally ever seen in the contest.
Among the best dunkers and high-flyers, it’s Vince Carter who takes the cake with his elbow slam from the 2000 dunk contest.
“The most amazing dunk I have ever seen is probably Vince Carter when he hung his elbow in the rim,” Jordan said, via the Star Tribune. “To me that was, without question, just unbelievable.”
For those that haven’t seen the dunk, it really might be the best of All-Time.
Pretty unreal athleticism from Carter and we have yet to see anything similar. But today, two decades later, we’re faced with a contest that may very well live up to the hype. With Aaron Gordon, Derrick Jones Jr., and Dwight Howard, it’s sure to be a good time.
But perhaps nothing will live up to the legendary performance in 2000. The elbow dunk wasn’t the only spectacular sight that day.
And while it’s a shame we’ll never get to see Carter and MJ duel it out in a contest (MJ won one against Wilkins over three decades ago), we’ll always have this clip to remind us that — even for a moment — Vince Carter was able to do the impossible.
The legend of Michael Jeffrey Jordan was built on his otherworldly skill to levitate and perform feats of aerial artistry never before seen on a basketball court. As a two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion, the Chicago Bulls icon solidified his reputation among the greatest dunkers ever by winning his second trophy in 1988 when the All-Star festivities took place in Chicago.
It was a fantastic duel with fellow high-flyer Dominique Wilkins, who put together an incredible performance. But despite his display of power and grace, Wilkins would walk away with the silver medal as Jordan was awarded the victory by the slimmest of margins in a highly controversial decision.
Keep Watching
Dubious final score for Wilkins’ final dunk
Jordan and Wilkins battled in the final round and the two got perfect scores of 50 on their first dunks. Their second and final attempts were when things got a little awkward. For his second dunk, Wilkins unleashed a ferocious windmill slam that rocked the Chicago Stadium and everyone in attendance.
“I said, ‘I got it.’ Because I thought my last dunk was my best dunk. I knew my last dunk that I’m going to get a 50. It was just a two-hand windmill off two feet. And I brought it from my knees. It ain’t too many guys who can do that,” said Wilkins.
However, the judges included:
– Chicago Bears Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers
– Los Angeles Dodgers Vice President Tom Hawkins (a Chicago native)
– Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich
– former NBA player and Dunbar High alum Johnny Green
-former NBA player Randy Smith
Much to Wilkins’ chagrin, they gave him a 45.
“I got a 45. And I’m like, ‘Uh oh. Is the fix in?’ I knew I was in trouble. I would’ve been happy with a 47 or 48. But a 45? C’mon, man,” said Wilkins.
Jordan claimed the trophy
Sensing that he had an opening to win it all, Jordan pulled off something sensational to claim the victory. He jumped from the free-throw line and slammed it home, earning a perfect score of 50.
“I was nervous, the only time in the contest I was nervous. I knew I needed something really spectacular to win. I was searching the crowd for something to do. Then, I saw the man who started it all, Julius Erving. He indicated to me I should go the length of the floor and take off from the free-throw line,” Jordan said in a talk with the reporters after the contest.
However, deep down, Jordan knew that being in his home city probably played a role in the win. According to Wilkins, Jordan told him:
“He [Jordan] said ‘Hey, you know, you probably won. You know it; I know it. But hey, you in Chicago. What can I tell you?’”
Feb 8, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Young fan reacts after Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) scores a basket against the Sacramento Kings during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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